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I have a phone interview with Yahoo! coming up within the next two weeks and was wondering how I can best prepare for it? I read that there are 3 rounds you have to go through, each one consisting of several technical questions covering topics on data structures, operating systems, and programming languages. For those who have been through these interviews before (whether with Yahoo! or not), what was your experience like?

you should have died in sandy. you're not just a troll on here, you're a complete dick. can you ever respond constructively to someone's thread? did you never learn how to make friends while growing up? did mommy and daddy never pay you enough attention? loser

you should have died in sandy. you're not just a troll on here, you're a complete dick. can you ever respond constructively to someone's thread? did you never learn how to make friends while growing up? did mommy and daddy never pay you enough attention? loser

Good to hear your coming into the field, make sure you have an area that you're most interested in and can explain why you're energetic about it (networking, search, database, storage, kernel, etc). When I interview ppl I want to see them excited about the stuff they want to do. For a fresh grad, energy and being "hungry" is a big positive.

Most ppl don't know how to interview new grads. They're used to interviewing ppl with experience and will try to adjust the questions accordingly. This means they'll ask academic questions which should be fresh in your mind. Frequently, ppl have standard programming questions that they like to ask:

- Reverse a string
- Find a loop in a linked list
- Determine if a string is a palindrome
- Different ways to count number of bits in an integer
- Add/Insert objects into a singly linked list
- How to find out if a system is big Endian or little Endian
- Calculating Fibonnaci numbers (serially, recursively)
- Common search algorithms, pros/cons, big O complexity
- multi-threaded programming, context switching, resource sharing
- various resource locking (spinlock, mutex), their pros/cons
- GDB experience, what's a segfault.

Then there are brain teasers. Many of which you can find by googling Microsoft's interview questions:
- why is the manhole round
- how to find the fake coin in a stack using a scale
- how to transport different animals across the river
- how many barbers are there in NY (detailed assumptions arriving at a reasonable answer)

Finally there are personality questions.
- Do you know what this company/department does? (VERY IMPORTANT)
- What field did you specialize in school? What CS field do you want to go into, and why?
- What problem have stumped you before and how did you find a solution to it?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years? (stupid questions but you'll be surprised how unprepared ppl are for this question)

Good to hear your coming into the field, make sure you have an area that you're most interested in and can explain why you're energetic about it (networking, search, database, storage, kernel, etc). When I interview ppl I want to see them excited about the stuff they want to do. For a fresh grad, energy and being "hungry" is a big positive.

Most ppl don't know how to interview new grads. They're used to interviewing ppl with experience and will try to adjust the questions accordingly. This means they'll ask academic questions which should be fresh in your mind. Frequently, ppl have standard programming questions that they like to ask:

- Reverse a string
- Find a loop in a linked list
- Determine if a string is a palindrome
- Different ways to count number of bits in an integer
- Add/Insert objects into a singly linked list
- How to find out if a system is big Endian or little Endian
- Calculating Fibonnaci numbers (serially, recursively)
- Common search algorithms, pros/cons, big O complexity
- multi-threaded programming, context switching, resource sharing
- various resource locking (spinlock, mutex), their pros/cons
- GDB experience, what's a segfault.

Then there are brain teasers. Many of which you can find by googling Microsoft's interview questions:
- why is the manhole round
- how to find the fake coin in a stack using a scale
- how to transport different animals across the river
- how many barbers are there in NY (detailed assumptions arriving at a reasonable answer)

Finally there are personality questions.
- Do you know what this company/department does? (VERY IMPORTANT)
- What field did you specialize in school? What CS field do you want to go into, and why?
- What problem have stumped you before and how did you find a solution to it?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years? (stupid questions but you'll be surprised how unprepared ppl are for this question)

Wow thank you SO much. So far I am reviewing the PDF file that was posted above, but this additional information could help me better narrow down what I need to concentrate on.

If I want to get into Database Design, what kind of entry level positions should I look into? I already have a few years of Web Development under my belt, so it has been relatively easy for me to get these positions, but I would like to venture into different areas as well just to widen my options and experience. So far I have been applying for front-end SWE and PHP Programmer jobs and recruiters say they are really impressed with my work experience. On the other hand I have not worked too much with C++ and Java outside of school projects, so getting positions that require fluency in these languages have been hard to come by for me...

Wow thank you SO much. So far I am reviewing the PDF file that was posted above, but this additional information could help me better narrow down what I need to concentrate on.

If I want to get into Database Design, what kind of entry level positions should I look into? I already have a few years of Web Development under my belt, so it has been relatively easy for me to get these positions, but I would like to venture into different areas as well just to widen my options and experience. So far I have been applying for front-end SWE and PHP Programmer jobs and recruiters say they are really impressed with my work experience. On the other hand I have not worked too much with C++ and Java outside of school projects, so getting positions that require fluency in these languages have been hard to come by for me...

Thank you BFF

Web development is a good start but probably not something you want to go long term with. These are frequently outsourced and tend to have higher turnover once the interface is done. The barrier of entry is low so you'll find competition from part-time contractors as well.

Database is good but can be boring at times. I would recommend looking for an entry-level position at Oracle/Google. They're large with many positions and give good pedigree on your resume. A background in database with strong analytic skills will land you jobs in data mining/search optimization.

I came up in networking. It's interesting and always something new to learn, but Cisco have started to commoditize the market. There still tons of companies in the Silicon Valley doing networking, you won't have any trouble finding a job and many startups to be adventurous with.

Cloud is really the next big thing. Companies are moving all kinds of storage, management, and computing into the cloud. Network, storage, etc all ties in to the cloud.

Or you can go for more generic kernel/platform work. Every company have their own OS and need ppl to maintain them. Your choice of field can be very flexible with this type of position.

My reommendation would be to stick with a large corporation for your first job, unless you're very specialized with prior experience and want to try a startup. Your resume is all about pedigree. Having well-known companies or startups that made it will do wonders for your future career growth. When managers skim the resume, that's what they're looking for.

Web development is a good start but probably not something you want to go long term with. These are frequently outsourced and tend to have higher turnover once the interface is done. The barrier of entry is low so you'll find competition from part-time contractors as well.

Database is good but can be boring at times. I would recommend looking for an entry-level position at Oracle/Google. They're large with many positions and give good pedigree on your resume. A background in database with strong analytic skills will land you jobs in data mining/search optimization.

I came up in networking. It's interesting and always something new to learn, but Cisco have started to commoditize the market. There still tons of companies in the Silicon Valley doing networking, you won't have any trouble finding a job and many startups to be adventurous with.

Cloud is really the next big thing. Companies are moving all kinds of storage, management, and computing into the cloud. Network, storage, etc all ties in to the cloud.

Or you can go for more generic kernel/platform work. Every company have their own OS and need ppl to maintain them. Your choice of field can be very flexible with this type of position.

My recommendation would be to stick with a large corporation for your first job, unless you're very specialized with prior experience and want to try a startup. Your resume is all about pedigree. Having well-known companies or startups that made it will do wonders for your future career growth. When managers skim the resume, that's what they're looking for.

I definitely do not want to stick with Web Development long term because like you said jobs are being outsourced and on top of that so many people can do the job that companies settle with contractors/freelancers.

I will see about getting more into data mining and networking. How about a combination of database design/networking to get into the Cloud family? There is a professor that I will be taking a database class with next semester who has 20 years of experience working at Oracle. I am going to pick his brain and find out everything I can while I have the opportunity. Heck, every little bit helps! Besides that I think my school is horrible at preparing us for entering the industry. I used my alter mater's resources to attend their career fair recently and that is how I was able to land an interview with Yahoo!. What worries me is what the future holds for Yahoo!... I thought I needed to go the extra mile to stay competitive with all of the MIT / Carnegie Mellon / CalTech / Stanford guys if I want to stand out and get into one of the major tech companies. So far I am keeping in contact with a Google recruiter, but even if I get a first interview the technical interview scares the crap out of me! I've heard/read too many horror stories not to be worried about it.

As for working at a start-up / small company I've pretty much decided against it. I just feel that I need a much better skill set working for them compared to a larger corp with dozens of programmers working on projects as a team. Also as you said it would just look good on your resume.

I feel much better about my future, concentration and where I want to be in the industry. Just to better my knowledge and show my motivation I want to write my thesis on the Cloud. Would this be something I could show employers or would it be too arrogant? lol